Hurt and alone
by mistyrose224
Summary: Jaimie's feeling alone and it doesn't help when people avoid him. He gets hurt and learns that it's easier just to tell people the truth about Scarab in the beginning instead of letting people think he's crazy.


"Blue watch out!" Robin screamed his eyes huge from the threat coming at me from behind.

It was like everything went in slow motion, I dropped down and rolled to the right. Black Beetle's sword crashed down just inches from my head.

I gasped, my hands were shaking from exhaust. I haven't slept well for days, I was totally spent.

"Okay pause, let me explain how I got myself into this mess. It was just going to be a simple mission for the omega squad, me, Superboy, M'gann and La'gaan. We were just going to check out an abandoned R.e.a.c.h warehouse that Batman was interested in. Well, when we came in here it looked empty until we found the lights. When we turned them on we saw many projects that R.e.a.c.h had been working on. That was the point when we realized it was a trap and Black Beetle ( the R.e.a.c.h.'s little pawn, another Scarab like the one on my back ( I'll explain that one later. ) "You aren't supposed to be here" Black Beetle's voice echoed from around the big warehouse. That's when the fight started."

"You should have just flown upwards, you took a big risk of killing yourself." Scarab's voice boomed in my head, making me even more angry then I already am.

"Would you just shut up for five minutes!" I screamed to Scarab, who I could only hear. Another thing to be annoyed and angry about, how unlucky could I get?. Just then Black Beetle slapped me hard in the chest, a horrible pain went up my body as I crashed on the floor. I fell onto my chest, I felt something crack. I held back a yelp, my eyes watering and my breaths were coming in short. I don't know how long I laid like that until I heard Robin.

"Blue you okay?" he called from a crossed the big warehouse.

"Yeah..I'm just fine." I mumbled back to him as I painfully pushed myself up from the floor. Every move sent pain flaring through my body, I put my arm over my chest to try to stop the pain. I could feel the ground shake from Black Beetle tossing Superboy into the wall,I turned my head to Superboy who was crumbled against the wall and didn't move.

"Superboy!" M'gann cried over to Superboy his head was lowered and not moving. She tired to fly over to where he was but Black Beetle jumped into her way. "Ha Ha, you're not gonna make it to your little friend. In fact, you're not gonna make it out of here alive." he hissed in his foul voice then formed swords from his armor and charged her.

M'gann was in tears "YOU'RE DEAD!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her hands glowing with green energy. She threw everything she had at him. "Ha Ha, is that all you've got little girl?. You're not even worth my time.." he stepped up to her, her hands glowed brighter as he got closer. "Ahhh!" she yelled as she threw her energy at Black Beetle, he kept walking and flecked her out of his way like a worthless bug. "Pathetic." he stated.

"Great, now it's just me, you, and La'gaan. He'll be a lot of help. Not." I sighed, "and I don't need your input!" I hissed to Scarab.

"Lets make a tactical retreat." Scarab ordered to me.

"What? no!. The teams needs me...fine, us." I sighed, I'm just too tired and worn out to argue with Scarab. I just want to lay down and die, it's not like any one would notice anyway. They all think I'm crazy anyways, maybe I am.

"Let me take control of the armor, you need to recharge." Scarab advised to me, it was so tempting to just let him take over I know I shouldn't though, bad things seem to happen when I let him take control but I couldn't keep this up any longer.

"Okay, but no killing the team!, got it?" I asked tiredly, my eyes dropping. My arms felt like lead, my legs were unsteady and my body hurt so much, tempting me to go into a permanent sleep. I'm not any help to Robin in this state anyways, Robin was jumping from some large crates around the center of the warehouse. He was playing keep away from Black Beetle. I turned my attention back to Scarab.

"I understand." Scarab agreed.

I relaxed and let him take over the Blue Beetle armor, I instantly blacked out.

When I awoke I was in the infirmary's bed. It was a small room with many machines, always beeping. There was no windows only florescent lights. The door was to my right. I started to pull the blankets off of me when Nightwing walked into the room.

"Good, you're awake. Mind telling me why you attacked the team and started screaming at us after you defeated Black Beetle?" Nightwing frowned to me, his arms folded across his chest. It looked like he hadn't slept in awhile, his midnight black hair was ruffled and his outfit was dirty with mud. He had specks of mud splattered across his mask, his eyes were hidden behind the mask. I couldn't believe what he was telling me, then again, maybe I do believe him. My exhaustion was making it hard to focus on what he was telling me but even so, it didn't stop my anger from rising.

"I did what!?" I frowned, avoiding his gaze. I looked down at my blankets, I gritted my teeth then looked to my left towards the Scarab on my spine.

"You didn't.." I mumbled to Scarab trying to keep my voice low so Nightwing wouldn't over hear. Although, I think I failed from the look Nightwing's giving me.

Nightwing had on a look of confusion and concern, he unfolded his arms and let them hang beside him. I don't even want to know what's going through his mind right now, maybe he's saying I'm nuts or maybe he's regretting ever letting me on this team. I don't know but right now, I have business with Scarab to discuss.

"I'm sorry, but they threatened you." he reasoned with me.

"How could you!, you said you wouldn't!. The team would never threaten me!" I shouted at Scarab I noticed Nightwing was staring at me worriedly, lowering my voice and trying to calm myself. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and let my head hang for a moment.

"I said I wouldn't about what?, I wasn't even with you on the mission." Nightwing spoke up, he raised an eyebrow at me in confusion. He shifted his weight showing his comfort level, which was pretty clear it wasn't real high.

"Oh um, nothing. I wasn't talking to you" I said without thought then I noticed my mistake.

Oh crud, I really did it now, didn't I?. Dang it, I need a good story or something!. I thought with panic, my eyes darting around the room looking for anything that would prove as a good story.

"Okay then, who were you talking to if not me?, there's nobody else in here" he knitted his eyebrows and frowned at me.

"I ah, was just talking out loud?" I nervously smiled at him, hoping that would be enough to convince him to drop it. Although, if it'd been me I would have pressed it farther then that but I think Nightwing respects people's privacy, he has his secrets as well.

See, nobody but Superboy knows about the Scarab on my back and how he talks to me, all the time!.

They just think he's some kind of weapon, nothing more and nothing less.

"Alright, just, get some rest." he didn't look like he bought my story but he dropped it, he turned towards the door. Yawning, he started walking over to it and opened it.

He stared at the floor for a moment then turned his head back towards me. "You know, Jamie, if you ever need to talk or anything. Well, you know where to find me." He stepped out and closed the door before I could say anything.

If only he knew how much I wanted to tell someone other then Superboy, he's not the talkative kind of guy, if you know what I mean.

I was by myself again, or at least as much as alone I could get, considering Scarab.

"How could you do that after you promised me you wouldn't hurt my friends!" I snarled, my fists clenched in anger, sending shock waves up my arm. Making me gasp, I must have bruises from the fight. I figured Scarab would have started the healing process, guess not. Although, my chest felt a whole lot better. He must have been healing that first, at least he knows how to heal the bigger wounds first I suppose.

"I already told you, they threatened you." Scarab answered calmly like he did this sort of thing all the time, oh wait. He does do this all the time!.

"Threatened me!, how?" I asked him, I had a snarl on my face as I fiddled with the blankets on my bed.

"They aimed a weapon at you and started yelling. I assume it was because I accidentally hit M'gann with my energy cannon, but I am not sure."

" Ay Dios mìo, ya think!." I hissed, then buried my head in my hands trying to plan ahead for the apology I'll have to give Ma'gann.

I yawned, I was still dead tired. My head hurt from the fight and my vision was a bit blurry. Next time there's a fight, count me out.

"It doesn't matter, I guess. What's done is done, but next time you're so not taking control of the suit!" I glared to my left, towards the Scarab on my back.

"I just hope everyone will forgive me and that I can come up with a great excuse for this" I sighed in annoyance as I threw the covers off of me and slung my feet off the bed onto the floor. I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out looking down at my legs, I noticed I was in nothing but my boxers. I felt my cheeks heating up with embarrassment, I just hope nobody saw me like this. Then again, I'm sure they did. They had to get me in here somehow, this isn't helping my embarrassment any.

I jumped up and jogged over a chair sitting across the room near the door on it, were my clothes folded and stacked neatly.

I grumbled to myself as I grabbed up my blue jean pants and started putting them on, I buttoned and zipped them up. Then I reached for my black T-shirt, I threw that on and then grabbed my zip up gray hoodie and slid that on. I zipped it up and stuffed my hands inside the pockets, I reached for the door nob and turned it. I looked one last time at this drab room then closed the door and stepped into the long hallway that led to the kitchen, living room and random bed rooms. I pulled up the hood to hide my tired face, I kept my eyes on the floor and started walking.

In case you're wondering how I happen to come across the Scarab, I'll tell you.

I became Blue Beetle when I was skating home past Kord Industries, where the original Blue Beetle died in a explosion.

The scarab (AKA Blue Beetle ) was thrown from the building, I was in shock from the explosion.

I just noticed the Scarab laying on the ground next to burning wood and papers.

I picked it up and that's when he climbed up my back and fused onto my spine. I've had to deal with him for 3 years, it sucks!.

I don't have any normal friends, well except for Tye Longshadow, he's my best friend.

He doesn't know about me being the Blue Beetle, I don't want him to know. He'll think I'm crazy too. I always scare people away from me, they think I'm nuts because I talk to scarab, who I can only hear.

So to the rest of the world, it looks like I'm talking to myself and they think I'm crazy and sometimes, I believe them.

I always mess everything up, I can't do anything right. Half the time the team doesn't even want me to come with them on missions.

They'd never tell me that to my face, but I can tell with the way they act that they don't really want me there.

I can't say I don't blame them though, who'd want some crazy kid who yells at them self all the time.

The team has witnessed me arguing and yelling at Scarab before, me balling my fists on multiple occasions and looking like I wanted to kill someone.

People tend to avoid me.

I sighed, I wasn't quite sure what time it was. I could find out pretty fast if I wanted to ask Scarab, he kept track of those kind of things. But right now, I don't want to hear Scarab, he attacked my friends yet again. My footsteps echoed down the long hall, at least I'm alone I guess.

"Hey Blue!" I turned and saw Impulse, he was hopping around. Hyper as usual.

I guess I spoke too soon..

"Oh uh, hey Hermano!" I smiled a fake smile, trying to act like nothing was bothering me. Unfortunately, Impulse could see right through me.

"What's wrong, Jaimie?" he asked, a concerned look in his eyes. He seemed the only one who really cared if I was alright.

"Nothing, just tired." I told him half the truth, "I gotta go and get something to eat. Talk to you later Hermano" I turned away from him, I didn't feel like talking at the moment.

I kept walking towards the kitchen, hoping nobody would be in there. It looked like I was out of luck though, Nightwing and M'gann were inside, along with La'gann. Just perfect.

"Good to see you up and moving" Nightwing told me, he was still wary of me though. I could tell from his stance. I couldn't blame him though, after that scene a little while ago, I'd avoid me too.

"Yeah, I feel a little better." I put another fake smile on. Just keep acting, it's not like they know me well enough to tell the difference anyway.

"Why do lie to your so called friends, Jaimie Reyes?" Scarab asked me, his voice echoing in my mind.

I put my hand up to my head in alarm , I wasn't feeling very good that's for sure. I'm dead tired, I stayed up half the night before the day of the fight because Robin wanted me to help him train, basically I was his punching bag and I wasn't supposed to use any weapons so it was a bit different then what I'm used to. When I fight, I'll use my weapons as long as they're not set to lethal.

"You okay, blue?" Nightwing asked, his eyes showing a little concern. He was standing around the small counter in the center of the kitchen, he was holding a cook book while M'gann sat on a stool around the counter reading a recipe and eating an apple. La'gann was sitting next to M'gann acting like he hadn't seen me come in and ignoring me while he stared towards Nigtwing.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need more sleep I guess." I looked up at him, he seemed to buy it because he went back to scanning his book, his finger trailing over the page.

"I uh, I'm sorry M'gann for attacking you. I honestly don't remember doing that to you." I explained to her nervously, she glanced up at me.

"It's okay I guess" she smiled shyly, then went back to eating her apple.

"It's Okay?, you could have killed my girl friend!. Neptune's Beard, have you all gone mad!, there's something wrong with Blue Beetle, he's crazy!" La'gann shouted as he jumped up from his seat, Nightwing and M'gann looked up at him. He had a snarl on his face and he was balling his fists in anger. He was sending daggers towards me, making me feel worse then I already do. I adverted my eyes away from him in shame, I hung my head and stared at the floor.

"La'gann, he said he didn't mean too!" Nightwing narrowed his eyes at La'gann.

"No hermano, he's right. There is something wrong with me, I can't keep putting my team in danger like this." I said dejectedly then turned and jogged away from them. I felt empty inside, all I had for company was Scarab. Not someone I wanted right now.

I dashed to the exit and went outside, I had to get some fresh air. I formed the amour and flew into the evening sky. The cold wind whipped against my face, I could see fog coming in but at the moment I didn't care. I just wanted to leave Mount Justice for awhile, feeling the air rush by my face always seems to calm me down, makes me feel as if I have no worries in the world.

I sighed, honestly, I feel like crying. My heart ached to just be normal again and not have to deal with Scarab every day of my pathetic life.

I mean, the wings and armor are pretty cool but having a voice inside your head talking to you all the time isn't so cool and all the fights you get yourself into trying to save the world, it really hurt!. Plus you get the joys of having people assume you're crazy, you'll never know how many different ways people find to tell me I'm nuts.

"Why did you run, Jaimie Reyes?" Scarab inquired.

"I don't know, I'm just upset I suppose. I don't want to talk about it, 'K?" I answered in a dull tone as I looked straight ahead into the distance.

"Jaimie, you need rest. Your body functions are down, your stats show you're upset. Why?" he asked me.

"I said I don't want to talk about it but if you must know it's because I fell alone. Nobody wants to be around me and I can't blame them. I hurt people and I can't even control it. I just wish I could tell them about you." I choked up, I looked down at the earth. Everything looked so small and fragile. The trees looked so small, they looked like little toys.

"You can not tell anymore people about me, they'll take it as a sign of weakness."

"I know, I know. Doesn't matter anyways." I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.

"Jaimie, I suggest we go back. You're clearly upset and I don't want you to do anything stupid that would harm us."

"Fine, I'll go back." I took one last look down at the trees so small and turned around back towards Mount Justice, my so called home.

Home, where I get to deal with all the stares and have to hear giggles behind my back, laughing at me for talking to Scarab.

Where I have to deal with all the glares and name callings, yes.

Home sweet home. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

I turned and started flying my way towards Mount Justice, it looked small in the distance all covered with fog.

It was peaceful, I could hear nothing but wind. "Wait a second, that's not wind" I thought as I turned my head and looked behind me.

There was a black jet, sleek and futuristic looking. Just then a deck on the jet opened up and two figures stepped onto it.

It was Shimmer and Cheshire, Shimmer had a cruel grin on her face. Cheshire slowly pulled out her Sai and stood proudly on the deck, her black midnight hair blowing in the cool harsh wind.

My heart dropped, I knew there'd be a fight. "Oh I'm so not in the mood for this!" I moaned as I rested my gaze on Shimmer, I figured I'd go for her first. I've won against her many times, I can do it again. Even if I'm alone and sore, I can do this!.

I turned my head, Mount Justice was still awhile in the distance. The fog was getting thicker and thicker around Mount Justice. "Doesn't look like there's going to be any help coming from them." I hissed, "You ready for this, Scarab?" I looked to my left.

"I still do not suggest this, you are in no position to fight. You are injured and tired from the last fight." Scarab reasoned.

"I can't help it Ese, they're asking for it. I'm not leading them back to Mount Justice so I guess we're on our own." I grumbled, turning my attention back to the jet.

Shimmer flipped off the jet's deck, she had a jet pack on. She came towards me in a rush, throwing a kick towards my face, my eyes widened as I saw it coming, I quickly dodged her kick. I growled at her, narrowing my yellow eyes at her. I formed the energy plasma's and aimed them at her, "Next move's yours" I called to her over the roaring wind.

"I choose your death!" she spat then charged again, she punched me in the gut making me gasp. I shot the plasma's at her, hitting her jetpack and sent her falling out of the sky. She fell screaming, I couldn't let her die. I turned sharply and started flying downwards, the ground was coming up quickly. The wind whipped against my face, slowing me down. I could see Shimmer, I was approaching her quickly. I grabbed her out of the sky just before she hit the ground, I looked down at her. She looked terrified and in shock, her red hair was messy and her makeup was smeared. I held her bridal style and flew her up to the black jet. The deck was still opened, I laid her down on the deck and flew away from the jet.

"You're all alike you know, always doing the right thing instead of getting rid of the problem." I turned in the direction of Mount Justice, Cheshire was floating there with her jet pack, holding her Sai out to her side.

"You mean letting her die right?, would that be getting rid of the problem?" I yelled back to her over the loud wind.

"Yes, you should have shown her no mercy. Just like I'll do to you." She laughed.

Cheshire charged at me with Sai drawn in front of her. I just barely had time to dodge to the left, I felt the Sai whip past my head.

I'll admit, I'm sluggish tonight, my body is still stinging from all the scratches that littered my body distracting me from the fight.

I'm tired, that made my movements even slower. I turned my head around this seemingly endless dark blue evening sky trying to locate Cheshire. I noticed a movement in the corner of my eye, I whipped my head towards the movement.

Cheshire was floating there, the wicked smile on her mask made me feel uneasy. She was waiting there for me to make my move, I felt as though she could predict my every move. I hovered there, debating whether I should make a frontal attack or go with something more unsuspecting.

I could hardly think, I felt hopeless and alone. Cheshire made a sudden and unsuspected noise, I looked up at her in confusion.

She was giggling at me, I could see her chest moving with each laugh. I could feel my anger growing at each laugh that escaped her lips. She was mocking me and I didn't like it. I'm tired of people laughing at me!.

I charged at her yelling, my hand forming into a sword. I didn't notice my mistake until the last moment, It was like the world was in slow motion.

I could see her hand moving slowly towards my stomach, she was wielding her Sai. Time was going so slow, I could see the Sai becoming part of my stomach. I could feel the horrible pain explode up my body but there was nothing I could do.

I realized my horrible mistake, I became the fly in the spiders web. She had baited me with her laughter and I fell for her trap. She pulled me closer to her, shoving the Sai farther into my stomach then she let go.

I could feel myself falling through the cold and frigid night air. My body twisted through the sky, I couldn't focus through the pain. The world was just a bunch of spinning colors as I spun through the air.

I hit a tree branch, pain seared through my arm. I rolled and hit another tree, sending pain into my back. I was able to focus on the closing ground just before I hit it. I blacked out.

I felt my body being touched by someone or something, my eyes fluttered light was blinding, I quickly shut them again. I slowly opened them again, all I could see was a bright light.

I couldn't figure out if it was day light, pain or, maybe I'm dead. No, I don't think you supposed to feel pain if you're dead, I tried to open my eyes again. I slowly glanced around, I could see what had touched me, it was a pine cone.A stupid, worthless pine cone!.

I felt a warm liquid seep onto my arm, I sorta propped myself up a little to look at what it was. It was blood, just then I remembered the fight with Cheshire, the flood of pain came back to me.

I laid back down, swallowing the pain and trying not to moan, I looked at my surroundings hoping I wasn't far from help.

I was near a creek, surrounded with Fir and pine trees. It was probably a pretty place but I don't care at this point. I'm alone and hurt, maybe Scarab can take over the armor and take me home. "Scarab?" I quietly moaned, trying to focus on him. "Help me, take...take me home." I begged, I knew that if I stayed here to much longer I wouldn't make it out alive.

I could feel the armor powering up, it had built in healing for me and Scarab but I don't think it's going to do the trick this time around. Every movement hurt, it felt like daggers slowly cutting my skin. The cold air felt like salt being pored onto deep cuts. I saw Mount Justice approaching, we were almost there. I was able to hear that stupid door just before I blacked out.

RECOGNIZED, BLUE BEETLE B22.

"Jaimie!" an echo boomed around in my head, I couldn't make out the person the voice belonged to, it sounded like a voice being pushed through thick foggy air.

"Jaimie wake up!" It was getting louder and closer to me, I still felt strange. Like I was on the edge of life, not quite all there. I couldn't feel my body or see anything. It was just a wide expanse of blue.

"Jaimie, wake up!. You Need to wake up!" The voice was becoming louder and stronger, I started to feel closer to the voice. It was like a rope had been tied onto my body and I was being pulled back into the world.

I started to feel the pain in my stomach, the fire was worse then I remembered, it felt like a white hot iron was being pushed into my stomach while my arms were being cut by endless knifes. I was almost tempted not to come back to the pain, I was tempted to stay in this quiet, peaceful world.

But the voice was getting louder and the pain was clearer, I was being jerked back into the world.

My eyes flashed open, I was in a bed. There was blood all over the blankets and there was various medical tools on the low sitting table next to my bed. I had bandage wraps across my stomach and arms, the blood had seeped through the warps.

I felt light headed and weak, I couldn't breathe easily. Every breath was agony, it felt like someone was happily ripping my insides out.

"It's Okay, Jaimie, just stay awake. Okay?" M'gann appeared overhead, she had my blood all over her hands. It looked like she'd been playing in it, like a kid would play in water. She had on a mask over her mouth and had on some cheap white clothing.

"Jaimie's awake!, someone help me. I don't know what to do!" M'gann called across the room, the horrible look of worry and pity was melted on her face.

Nightwing came jogging over, grabbing up a dressing forcep and another bandage wrap. He rushed over to me, avoiding my eyes, he started to press the bandage down on my bleeding arm.

I whimpered at the mere touch of it, I wanted to power up the suit and run but I knew I couldn't, I don't even have the strength to talk yet alone get up and run away from them. I couldn't hear Scarab, I couldn't hear much of anything but the rushed voices of Ma'gann and Nightwing, I couldn't tell if there was anyone else in the room.

I squeezed my eyes shut trying to escape the pain, I wish I could just retreat into my mind until I'm either dead or the pain is gone but I know that is impossible, I'll just have to deal with it until I can't anymore. Nightwing had a mask of pity melted on his face, I knew he wasn't much of a doctor. He had only done this a few times when the team was attacked a few weeks ago but their wounds weren't as bad as mine.

M'gann looked like she was going to cry, I have a feeling she doesn't have much experience with patching wounds. Every time Nightwing moved the bandage on my arm it made me hiss with pain, I just wanted this over with!.

Nightwing mumbled something to M'gann, I couldn't focus on what they were saying. Nightwing pointed at my arm, it was still gushing blood. M'gann hurried over to my right side where the wound is on my arm.

I saw M'gann shake her head in disgust, then she slowly reached out and pressed down as hard as she could with a bandage to my wound. I gasped in pain and thrashed around trying to break free of her grasp, Nightwing was overhead speaking in a rushed tone of voice, I have no idea what he's trying to tell me.

Maybe he's saying I'm dying or maybe he's saying he's taking a lunch break. I don't know!. He frowned at me then grabbed my arms and held me down so M'gann could finish whatever she was doing. I could feel her wrapping my arm with bandages, It hurt and my arm felt stiff.

Nightwing let go of me, he looked at my face in sorrow, I knew right then that I was in pretty bad shape. Nightwing glanced at M'gann then reached over and took the bandage wraps from her hand and leaned over me.

He told M'gann something, she nodded then walked behind me out of my site. I felt her warm hands gently lift my head up from the table, Nightwing started wrapping my head in bandage.

I probably would have punched him if I wasn't trying to get out of their grasp, M'gann's eyes widened then quickly grabbed me before I hurt myself worse then I already am. My forehead was on fire, it burned with every touch of that bandage.

I could see Nightwing was hurrying as fast as he could, one part of my mind knew he wasn't trying to hurt me but the other parts of my mind override the one that had sense. I kept trying to move my head away from him, my body was in fight or flight mode.

I lifted my hands up in pain trying to push Nightwing off of me, the burning sensation got worse with every move of my body. I shifted my weight, that was a huge mistake, a white hot agony arose from my stomach.

I cried out in pain, my vision went white and I started thrashing blindingly. I felt a heavy weight holding me down, I struck out and hit whatever was one me, everything was pain. I couldn't hear or see anything, all I could do was feel the pain.

The horrible fiery pain erupting from my stomach. I must have blacked out because when I came to I could feel my head was bandaged, as was my arm and stomach. I felt light headed and weak, my throat felt raw. I must have been screaming.

Nightwing was sitting in a chair against the wall, he head was hanging down, I'm guessing he's asleep. I couldn't see M'gann anywhere, how long have I been out?. I wondered.

My body was horribly sore, my arm ached from the tight bandage. My stomach burned from the Sai wound, my head stung from the cuts I must have gotten when I hit those trees. I felt like a Christmas present at the moment.

I took a deep breath trying to muster the strength to speak, I've never been in so much pain before in my life. I mean, I've gotten into a lot of fights even before I was the Blue Beetle but nothing like this. I opened my mouth trying to form the words I wanted. "Ni-", wow this is hard, "Night...Nightwing..." I pushed the word painfully from my raw throat.

The only good thing that's coming from all of this is I haven't heard Scarab in a long time. I wonder how long I'll be bedridden, I mean I should heal faster then most because of Scarab. I just don't know how long it will take, I've never been hurt this bad.

I heard a faint sound, I slowly looked over at Nightwing. He was moving, he opened his eyes and looked at me. He jumped up and rushed over to me, "You're awake, how are you feeling?. I mean, I know you can't be feeling good.." he looked into my tired chocolate eyes.

I opened my mouth trying to form the words I wanted. "Wa..water" I managed to say.

"Oh yeah, water!." He did a face slap then he turned towards the door and rushed to it. He opened the door, stepped out and closed the door with a low click. I heard his footsteps lightly race down the hallway.

I started to scan the small room I was currently in. It wasn't much, it had white walls and a white floor. It didn't have a window just fluorescent lights in the center of the ceiling. There was a wooden chair in the corner of the room a little ways away from my bed, it was the one Nightwing was sitting in. Beside my bed was a small wooden table with a lousy get-well card on it,my bed was a boring color of white as well as the covers.

"I suggested you to go home before something bad happened now look what happened, you should have listened to me." Scarab boomed in my head, wonderful. Just what the doctor ordered, a very loud and annoying voice in my head!.

I rolled my eyes at him, I was too weak to talk to him. My body feels like it's on fire, just by breathing it feels like someone had taken a sharp knife and started cutting into me as if they get their joy from it. "Your body status shows you need water and rest."

Well duh, why do you think I sent Nightwing to get water?, I thought to myself. I wish he'd just shut up, I don't know if I could feel any worse then I already do but I don't want to test that theory.

"Your status also shows you're annoyed at something, I am guessing you are annoyed at me?." He inquired.

Yes, now shut up. You're going to give me a head ache!, I thought. My head was starting to pound like someone was taking their anger out on my head with a hammer.

Please be quiet, I hopefully thought to myself. Just then, Impulse came into the room with a glass of water.

"Hey, Nightwing told me you woke up. He told me you wanted some water, so yeah. How are you feeling, bro?." He walked over to me and tried to hand it to me. I was to weak to lift my hand, this is so embarrassing and pathetic to have my friend see me like this.

"Oh, right..sorry!" he held the glass up to my dry lips as I took a small sip, he frowned at the amount I drank but he didn't protest. He put the glass down on the table beside my bed, then he turned and walked over to the chair in the corner of the room and sat down.

"Who did this to you, Jaimie?. 'Cause if I find them, they are so dead!. Hurting my best friend like this, they could have killed you and well, they almost did!" he hissed in anger, I don't think I've seen him so angry before. He looked down at the floor for a moment before he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, he bounced his head back up and put his usual wide smile on.

"Anyways, I've got so much planned for when you get better!, so many pranks to pull on La'gann!." he jumped out of his chair and skipped over to my bed, his bright eyes full of life.

"I have this one planned, when La'gann goes to bed he's going to lay on his pillow, right?, well his pillow's going to be filled with whip cream!." he laughed with delight, he always has been a prankster. I wish I could share in his happiness but all my mind thought of was the steady rhythm of pain, it was like a heart beat.

I wish I could at least answer him, I don't know why Bart likes me enough to call me a best friend, I mean the very reason he came from the future was to stop me from taking over the world or something along those lines. He told me I'd go crazy and become this overpowered superhuman Blue Beetle and make everyone my slaves but yet he becomes best friends with the very person he's supposed to hate?. I took over his world and made him my slave along with his family and friends, why would he want to be friends with me?. I guess the saying "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" comes to mind, I guess I've never had luck with people, most of them treated me like a friend only to be stabbed in the back two weeks later. I'll admit though, Bart is one of my closest friends and I'd trust him with my life.

I tried to pronounce the words I wanted but my mouth wouldn't corporate with me, my throat felt like I had drank burning hot boiling water. I can say that I feel the smaller scratches slowly healing, I knew Scarab was helping me heal faster then a normal person would. I still feel like a poorly wrapped Christmas present, I have bandages on my arms to cover the small cuts and scratches, I have bandages on my forehead from hitting the ground a little too hard but the main one was the wound from Cheshire's Sai. The little amount of blood that seeped through the bandage on my stomach had dried so it looked like something you'd find on a cheap Halloween decoration. I gave up trying to talk, maybe I can speak using my eyes. I looked over at Bart who was chattering like a squirrel with rabies, I tried to meet his eyes but he was pacing the room while talking. Just normal Bart..I gave up trying to speak to him for the moment, I just watched him pace the room talking in his rushed voice. I couldn't make out a word he was saying but at least he was here with me, I felt my eyes starting to grow heavy. Before I knew it, I was opening them to find Bart passed out on the lone chair in the corner of the room. He head was drooped down against his shoulder in an uncomfortable position. My body's still tired but my mind is racing, I want to leave this to stupid room!. I hate being bedridden, it's boring. You know something kinda funny, I actually miss my little sister. That's pretty bad when that happens but I guess one good thing is my parents are used to me disappearing for a few days so they won't come looking for me. Not that they would anyways..

I drew a deep breath and sighed at the thought, I glanced over at Bart who was mumbling in his sleep. Hmm, something about chicken whizzes?. I rolled my eyes, Bart loves chicken whizzes. He's always stealing them from me, do you have any idea how hard it is to catch him when he's running away from you?. It's nearly impossible! but he's a pretty cool guy though. At Least he visits me in here, he and Nightwing seem to be the only ones who care if I'm okay. It's okay though, it's not like I need friends. I'm fine by myself. I couldn't convince my heart to that though, it always has to tell me I'm wrong and make me feel lonely. I guess, as long as I do my job of protecting the world then who cares about feelings, right?. My brain hurt trying to think about it all, I just wanted to get out of this bed. I caught Bart twitching, I looked over at him again. He was waking up, his eyes cracked open and focused on me. He gave me a smile and leaned up, "you feeling any better?, Nightwing was in here earlier. He changed your bandages but you were so out of it, I don't think you even twitched." He chuckled at me, I tried for a weak smile. He jumped up and walked over to me. He looked down at my face. "You hungry?, 'cause I am." As if on cue, his stomach growled. I was rather hungry but I don't know if I'd be able to hold it down or not. I still felt pretty sickly. My throat felt better today though, I looked sideways trying decide if I should try to speak or not. I probably should at least try, I'll know pretty quick if I can or not. "Yeah, I am" my voice still sounded raw but at least I spoke. "Okay, cool you're talking now!. What're you hungry for or do you care?. Maybe you want something soft, or sweet maybe. No, that would be good for your stomach." he frowned, it was hard to follow when he spoke,He talks so fast. "Don't care." I managed to say. " 'K, be back sooner then you can say chicken whizzes!" He grinned at me then turned and sped out the door. I lost track of time, I heard a knock at the door. "Can I come in?, I heard you were feeling a little better?" Nightwing asked from outside the door. "Yeah" I spoke as loud as I could manage. It was loud enough for him to hear, he opened the door and stepped in. He looked at me, scanning my bandages for any fresh blood that may have seeped through. I stared at him, waiting for him to say something. He noticed me staring at him, he took his eyes off of my bandages and stepped closer to me. "How are you feeling?" he asked with concern. "Better" I stated, "but I'm still a bit sore."

"Do you mind if I check your bandages?, it might hurt a little." He let me know. I nodded to him, "go ahead." He reached up to the bandage on my forehead and started unraveling it. He nodded to himself, " you heal very fast, you know that?" he looked at me and raised a brow. "uh, yeah." I avoided his gaze and fumbled with the corner of my blanket. "I'm glad you heal faster then most, that means you won't be laying in bed as long." He smiled warmly at me and proceeded down to the bandages on my arm where I'd hit that tree branch. He unraveled it and nodded then set the bandages onto the low sitting table next to my bed. "I'm going to check the wound on your stomach, it will probably hurt." He warned me. "It couldn't hurt anymore then it did a few days ago." I told him. He proceeded down to the bandages on my stomach, he barely touched it and it sent pain through me. I gritted my teeth against the pain, he managed to get the bandages off without me moaning in pain. He knitted his brows at it, "well, it looks better then it did. I've never seen anyone heal so fast!" he looked up into my face with interest. "Yeah, I don't know. Guess I just heal faster then most?" I mumbled to him, avoiding his gaze. I started at the wall instead of looking at Nightwing. He turned his focus back to my wound and grabbed some clean bandages, he started putting them on me. I flinched when he touched my stomach, it feels better then a few days ago thanks to Scarab. If it weren't for him, I'd be in here forever!. "Alright, well it looks like you're healing fast and everything looks normal, no infections." He informed me. "I saw Impulse in the kitchen just before I came in, looked like he was cooking something. I'm guessing it's for you?" he asked with a smile, "It looked like he was almost done so he should be in here any moment. I'll leave you to eat." He grabbed up the dirty bandages then turned towards the door and started walking. He opened it halfway then paused, "I'm glad you're feeling better Jaimie." He looked at me once more before turning and heading out the door. It was a few moments after Nightwing left when Bart came bursting in with some oat meal. Yummy..

"I made you some oat meal!" he carried it over to me and sat it down on the table next to my bed. I glanced over at it, Steam was rolling off of it. "Yeah, I might have cooked it a bit long" he smirked at me then pulled up the chair closer to my bed. "So uh, what did Nightwing have to say?. Are you healing okay, no infections or anything, right?." he asked with concern portrayed in his eyes. I looked into his worried green eyes, I really do have a great friend. I realized in that moment. "Yeah, he said I'm healing just fine and nope. No infections or anything." I informed him, "oh and thanks for the oat meal, it looks really good." I smiled then looked down at the mush steaming in the white ceramic bowl, it looked disgusting. It was a dry mess but I wouldn't let him know I didn't prefer oat meal. "Did Nightwing give you a specific time you would be able to get out of bed and walk around?." Bart asked as he leaned back against the chair and put his hands behind his head then sighed in content. "No, I guess whenever I feel up to it. I still have the wound on my stomach, remember?" I frowned, I want to get out of this bed so bad but I don't want to burst my wound and have to heal all over again. That wouldn't be good, that's for sure!. "Yeah, I remember. Did it hurt," he asked then noticed the look of confusion on my face. "When Cheshire stabbed you." he explained. "Oh. Yeah, it hurt pretty bad but it was more of a out of body experience. I mean, I could still feel the pain but..it was strange. I could feel everything, every emotion going through my body. I thought I was going to die..I was scared." I confessed, looking down at my blankets and avoiding his eyes. "I bet you were, I'd be terrified!." I looked up at him, he smiled warmly at me. I could see he was saying that to cheer me up, it worked. "I think your oat meal should be cool by now." He pointed to the bowl on table next to my bed, the steam wasn't coming off it as much. "Oh yeah, thanks." I reached over and picked it up. My arms still felt weak but I managed to keep a hold of the bowl. I grabbed the sliver spoon and scooped up a dry morsel. I slowly brought it to my mouth and took a bite. I guess it wasn't that bad, it was pretty dry but I was hungry enough not to care that much. I swallowed it and scooped up another spoonful. "How is it?" Bart asked expectantly as he leaned forward in his chair, he had a big goofy smile on his face. "It's good, thanks for making it." I thanked him as I set the now empty bowl down onto the table. I wiped my mouth with my hand, it was sore but I could move it. "I guess I'll let you get some sleep, see you later Jaimie!." He grabbed up the empty bowl and pulled the chair back to where it was then turned to the door. "Wait, what time is it anyways?" I asked him before he left. He turned towards me, "12:30 at night, I'm tired." He yawned a huge yawn as if to prove his point. "Oh, alright. Goodnight then, see you in the morning." I wished him a goodnight. "Night, don't let Black Beetle bite!" he winked then closed the door behind him with a quiet click. I yawned and curled up in my blankets then reached up and turned off the lights. I lay there for a moment before closing my eyes and fell asleep.

I woke up to Nightwing knocking loudly on my door, the sound blasting into my ears like a rude wake up call. I pushed myself up and leaned against my pillow, I yawned and rubbed my tired eyes. "Uh, come in." I called in a sleepy tone of voice, I looked towards the door as Nightwing opened it. "Hey, good morning. Wow, looks like you had a ruff night!" he joked as he stepped into the room and walked up to my messy bed. "I need to check your bandages again." He looked at me, waiting for my okay. "Yeah, go ahead. I feel a lot better today, I think Scarab-" I almost messed up and told him about Scarab!. "I'm glad you're feeling better, who's Scarab though?" He questioned as he slowly unwrapped the bandage on my stomach. He looked surprised, he glanced up at me then back down at my wound. "It's..It's healed!, but how?. How did you heal so fast?, most people it would have taken weeks!" He had interest showing on his face, he grabbed the old bandages and set them on the table. "I guess I just heal faster, I don't know. Do you think I could try getting out of bed today?" I asked wanting to get off the Scarab subject. I was so ready to leave this bed!.

"I think you can, your wound has healed. Just be careful though" He told me as he picked up the old bandages and started out the door. "I'll send Bart in to help you walk, if you want that is?" He asked as he stood in the doorway.

"Yeah, sure." I mumbled, I really don't want any help. I feel fine, I can walk on my own. I'm not helpless. I thought bitterly.

"Jaimie Reyes, you might require the Impulse's help. I suggest you accept his help." Scarab pointed out to me.

I guess Scarab was right, although. I didn't feel like I needed help but it wouldn't hurt having my friend with me.

" 'K, I'll send him in. Although, he might still be sleeping since it's only 9:30." He chuckled. I could picture Bart snoring in his bed, his arm hanging off the side. His blankets half on him and half on the floor, drooling into his pillow. I smiled and rolled my eyes, "Okay, and Thanks Nightwing. For everything." I looked him in the face and truly felt thankful for his help and the kindness he's shown me. He nodded, turned and closed the door behind him. I don't feel like waiting for Bart to wake up, last time I had the job of waking him up I had to throw a pillow at his head, listen to him grumble and fall asleep again. I had to shake him awake, it was really annoying because I was in a hurry. Once he's up though, he's back to his hyper self again. I think he secretly drinks coffee all day long then comes off of his caffeine rush and crashes for the night.

I pulled the blankets off of me and swung my legs off the bed and onto the cool floor, it felt good to be sitting up. I saw my clothes sitting on the chair by the door, it felt like deja vu. I stood up, using the bed for support. My head spun for a moment nearly making me lose my balance, it cleared and I made my way to my clothes. I grabbed my pants and threw them on, along with my shirt and my favorite zip-up hoodie. I sat down on the chair and leaned down to tie my shoes. It hurt a bit, I'm still sore. Even if you can't see the wound, I can still feel it. I stood up again and zipped up my jacket and put the hood up. I yanked open the door, anxious to leave this boring room and go back to my life again. I shut the door and started down the long hall towards the training room, that's where everyone should be at by now. I approached the door, this was my last chance to change my mind.

"Jaimie Reyes, I know what you're thinking. Rid yourself of these foolish thoughts, turn back." Scarab commanded to me, I ignored him and continued through the door.

RECOGNIZED: BLUE BEETLE B22.

I hated those stupid doors, there's no quiet entry when you walk through them. You can't just walk through the doors and hide in the back of the room or something, oh no. It has to yell your name to everybody in the room, well one thing's for certain. There's no turning back now.

I walked farther into the room, I could feel eyes burning into me as I slowly walked into the training room. What consisted of the training room was a large electronic arena in the center of the room, with computers that took the status of the match near the arena. There's chairs around the arena as well, most of the chairs were occupied. Some of the members were leaning against the back wall, trying to stay unnoticed. Superboy was leaning there with his arms folded across his chest, he had a scowl on his face like usual. Nightwing was over by the computers watching the match, M'gann was sitting in one of the chairs nearest Nightwing. Bumble bee was leaning against the wall with her man. He was a nice guy but for some reason, I could never remember his name. Zatanna was sprawled out on a chair, she looked bored watching the match. La'gann was standing in the corner of the room, he had a scowl on his face as he looked at M'gann. I'm going to guess they had another fight.

"Oh Hey Jaimie, I'm glad to see you up and moving but," Nightwing looked around the room, his face was scanning everyone in here, "Where's Bart?" he asked with a frown on his face. "I'll go get him." Nightwing sighed, just then Bart came sprinting into the room.

"Hey, sorry. I was totally crashed." He breathed to Nightwing as he jogged over to us.

"It's fine, just try to get here in time next time!" Nightwing gave him a look then turned his attention back to me.

"How are you feeling?, do you want to sit down?. Another match should be starting soon." He told me.

"No, I'm fine but I have something I need to tell everyone..." I took a deep breath, I was scared to tell them about Scarab. What if they just laughed and then they would think I was truly nuts.

"I do not suggest this, Jaimie Reyes. This is foolish, you are not thinking straight." Scarab roared in my head, I looked to my left towards Scarab. "No Ese, it's time they knew what's going on." I turned towards the center of the room and cleared my throat.

"I have something I need to tell everyone." I rubbed the back of my neck as everyone's eyes darted over to me, I was nervous.

"You all know about me being the Blue Beetle and how he's just a suit, right?. Well, that's not all it is. It's alive." I heard gasps of surprise and people chattering among themselves.

"What do you mean, it's alive?" Nightwing asked slowly, he was looking at me strangely like I finally lost all sense.

"I mean, he talks to me. All the time." I told him, "He pretty annoying, his usual advice is to eliminate all threats. It could be you guys or our enemies, I'm always fighting him." Nightwing seemed speechless, along with everyone else.

"I am not annoying nor do I give you false advice." Scarab told me.

I rolled my eyes and looked to my left again. "Yes you are annoying and you always give me false advice!"

"I do not, I give you battle advice and I even give you female advice."

"Would you just shut up!, and your pickup lines suck!" I argued with him, remembering I'm in the middle of the training room with everyone staring at me, listening to me argue with Scarab.

"Can I ask this..Scarab, a question?" Nightwing asked me with uncertainty.

"Yeah, sure just be prepared for a Stupid answer though" I advised him, while waiting for his question.

"If you were trapped in a small dark room with half the team, including me, and our enemies, they have weapons yet you can't see who's who in the dark. What would you do?" Nightwing raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

Great, this should be a good one.

"Okay Scarab, you heard that right?"

"Of course I did, I would eliminate all targets no matter the sacrifice." Scarab said matter of factly.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Umm, he said he has to think on it.." I told Nightwing.

"I said no such thing, I answered your question." Scarab grumbled to me, I ignored him. I mean, there's no way I'm telling Nightwing he said that!, seriously.

"Okay, so just how is it that you're able to live your life with this Scarab talking to you all the time?" Nightwing asked, he looked like he's starting to believe me.

"Well, It's not easy!. Just imagine having a voice inside your head who only you can hear and he gives you advice about everything, including telling me to wash behind my ears. I mean seriously, it's as bad as having a psycho mom in your head" I realized I was starting to sound pretty crazy right now, even for me.

"Is the Scarab dangerous?, like do we have to worry about him taking control of you and killing us all off. We can't exactly fight you, I've seen what you can do to our enemies and I tell you what, I wouldn't want to be your enemy!" everybody in the room nodded their heads in agreement.

"Uh," I wasn't sure what to say, he's taken control before but that was only because I let him. " I don't think you have anything to worry about, he's usually pretty tolerant of us" I reassured them and myself, that's the last thing I needed was Scarab taking control of the armor whenever he wanted to. That wouldn't turn out very pretty!.

"He usually is, what's that supposed to mean?" La'gann spoke up, I forgot he was even here. He came sulking out of the corner of the room and stood a few feet from me with his arms crossed.

"Well, it means that he hasn't told me to kill you in a while" I chuckled nervously and shifted my weight from foot to foot.

"Okay hold on, he tells you to kills us?. Are you sure we can trust this thing?" La'gann snarled and narrowed his red eyes at me.

"I am not a thing, I am a intelligent intellectual being that has to have a host in order to survive. Is that so bad?" He growled at me, I'm glad he doesn't have a body of his own right about now because I think he'd be whipping our butts as we speak.

"Alright, first he doesn't like being called a thing or an it. I just got yelled at and I am so not in the mood for a headache!" I moaned.

"Okay cool it you guys, thank you for telling us Jaimie. But one thing I have to ask, when somebody's talking to you and your eyes go to left, does that mean you're talking to the Scarab?." Nightwing asked.

"Yes, I'm talking to Scarab and most likely, telling him to shut up because listening to two people at once isn't easy!"

"Okay so wait a minute here!," Bart held his hands up then turned and looked at me, "How would I know if you're talking to me or him?, and how many real conversations have we had with each other?" he whined.

"Uh, I'm not sure Hermano...I usually join a conversation later and act like I heard the whole thing when in reality, I've been fighting with Scarab." I explained to him.

"So how would I know who you're talking to, I don't even know if you're really talking to me right now!" he had a pout on his face.

"Well one way to tell is, you're Hermano," I jabbed Bart in the shoulder, "And he's Ese" I pointed to the Scarab on my back.

"What does the Scarab even look like?" Bart asked me, I hesitated then unzipped my jacket and threw it onto a chair. I leaned over and pulled my shirt up so everybody could see the Blue Scarab on my back. Once I was sure everybody saw it, I leaned up again and put my shirt down. I grabbed my jacket and pulled it on then zipped it up.

"So what's up with the jacket anyways?" Bart asked me with his hands on his hips.

"If you had Scarab in your head while you're out in public you'd know why I wear this. The main reason is because it helps me avoid unnecessary attention and I love the long sleeves on it. It hides the armor when Scarab decides to take control of it and tries to "eliminate all threats". He does this when people push past me in the checkout line or if a cat happens to hiss at me while walking home, he'll even do it in the ice cream line which leaves me running trying to hide my hands. " I glared to my left towards Scarab, he was surprisingly quiet.

"Thank you for telling us this, it explains a lot that's for sure." Nightwing smiled warmly at me, he looked more relaxed with being next to me.

"Hey dude, how about we go get some cheese whizzes!" Bart elbowed me with a giant grin on his face. Like he needed to eat anything that might give him more energy!.

"Wait Jaimie, I think we all have some apologies to give you. Don't we?" Nightwing looked over the small crowd.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you, it just looked like you were talking to yourself and I've dealt with a few people who were, well you know, not all there." Zatanna looked down at the floor in shame.

"I already knew about Scarab because I asked instead of assuming things" Superboy said as he headed for the door to leave the room.

"I'm sorry." I barely heard La'gann mumble to me.

"We're sorry as well, I should have asked you instead of assuming things" Bumble bee spoke for herself and her boy friend.

"It's okay everyone, really. I've been dealing with Scarab for awhile, I'm used to people thinking I'm nuts.." I told them.

"Not it's not okay, we're all going out to have fun. No training today!, today's a day to make up for past mistakes" Nightwing announced.

"Lets go then!, what are we waiting for!" Bart was jumping excitedly.

"But I've already trained, so not fair!" I heard Robin grumble.

We all started to head for the door, everybody was patting me on the back as we went.

This was the happiest I've been in a long time and it felt good!.

RECOGNIZED: Nightwing B01, Bumble Bee B17, Guardian A10, Lagoon Boy B18, Zatanna A03, Robin B20.

Everything was perfect, except that stupid door!.

Here's the translation to the Spanish words.

"nosotros tomo a paliza, ese" ( We took a beating, dude )

"Ese" (Dude, homeboy, dog, comrade, pal. Or at least, that's what I was told it means lol )

"Hermano" ( brother, friend )


End file.
